"'Very nice pin,' I said.
"'Yes, I thought so. I got it on a Sixth Avenue car. Maybe you'll like
the gold one better; take your pick, it's all the same to me. That one
you've got in your hand is a good one.' I was slowly looking them over,
making up my mind how I would refuse them and not hurt his feelings.
"'How did you get this one?' I asked, holding up the pearl pin.
"'I picked it up outside Cooper Union.'
"'On the sidewalk?'
"'No, from a feller's scarf. I held the cab door for him.' He spoke
exactly as if he had been a collector who had been roaming the world for
curios. 'Take 'em both, "Doc"--or all of 'em--I mean it.'
"I laid the bundle on the table and said: 'Well, that's very kind of you
and I don't want you to think I don't appreciate it--but you see I don't
wear scarfpins, and if I did I don't think I ought to take these. You
see we have two different professions--you've got yours and I've got
mine. I saw off men's legs, or I help them through a spell of sickness.
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